Calculating-machine.



c. L. KENNICOTT.

CALCULATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22. 1915.

Patented Jan525, 1916.

2 SHEETS-:SHEET I.

Cass l nnz'coz THE COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH co., WASHINGTON. D.'c.

c L. KENNICOTT.

CALCULATING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22. 1915.

1,169,724. Patented Jan. 25, .1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

.70 E1 IH iiinm 7 rr D STATES PATENT osnion.

CASS L. KENNICO'IT, CF CHICAGO HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE KENNICOTT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CALCULATING-MACHINE.

' Specification of Letters Patent. 7

Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

' Application filedMarch 22,1915. Serial No. 16,155

- State of Illinois, have invented a new. and

useful Improvement in Calculating-Machines, of which the following is a specification. V

My invention relatesto improvements in calculating machines.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine suitable for use in manufacturing establishments where a number of workmen are employed, for the purpose of calculating or integrating continuously thelabor cost of various manufacturing processes. Thus where a number of employees are simultaneously engaged in the production ofany specific manufactured product or class of products, it is advantageous to be able tote'll at any moment the total labor cost which has up to that time been incurred in producing the specific product or class of products under consideration. By my invention this result is accomplished in a simple and accurate mannerand by a wholly automatic machine.

Various other secondary advantageous re-' sults are at the same time rendered possible by the use of my machine, as'will more fully appear from the following detailed description of one specific embodiment of theinvention. In this'description reference will be hadto the accompanying drawings, in

whichv V Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of machine embodying my invention; Fig.

2 is a rear elevation of the machine shown in Fig.1; Fig. 3 is a front elevation; Fig, l is an enlarged perspective view of a workmans plug'suitahle for use in connection with my machine; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the base-plate of my machine, showing the normal gearing of the same; and Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig.5, showing a different gear train in use.

Referring more particularly to the draw ings,.numeral 10 designates the base-plate or frame of my machine, and'the numeral 11 designates the indicating board which as shown consists of a comparativelynarrow upright plate having its front face 12 graduated, as indicated at 13. On top of the indicator board is mounted as by the brackets 14 a curtain roll 15, upon which is wound a strip 01' tape curtain 16, which may have a weighted end 17. An oscillating arm 18, which is preferably journaled concentrically with the curtain roll 15, carries a pawl 19 which travels over the surface of and engages a ratchet wheel 20 mounted on the roll 15. The arm 15 is operated by a vertical link 21, which extends downwardly be- :hind the indicator board, and at .its lower end is pivoted to a slide block 22, which travels in a slot 23 formed lengthwise of a horizontal rocker arm 24, which is pivoted to the base plate 10, as shown at 25. A. helical compression-spring 26, which is tastened at one end to the arm 24 and at the other to the link 21, tends always to draw the lattertoward the pivot 25 of the rocker arm. The rocker arm 24 is designed to be continuously operated as by a cam 27 upon a shaft 28, which is suitably journaled on the base plate and extends within a gearbox 29 mounted on the latter. The gearbox 29 may contain a constant-speed driving motor 30, the motor-shaft of which is provided with a pinion 31, which drives a counter-shaft '32, and through the latter drives the shaft 28 upon which the cam is secured.

In Fig. 5 I have shown the counter-shaft V 32 as provided with one set of reducing gears, which I wlll call the normal gearing,

and in Fig. 6 Ihave shown the counter-shaft pro ided with a different set of gears, which I'will call the overtime gears. It will be readily understood that accordingly as the gear connections between the motor, and the shaft28 are altered the relative speeds of the two shaftsmay be varied. Theprovision of an intermediate counter-shaft such as I have illustrated'is merely a convenient method of effecting this speed. variation of the shaft 28, considering the motor 30 as a constant-speed motor.

The operation of my machine as so far described is as follows: The motor 30 being energized from some suitable power source and driven at a constant speed, through its geartrainacts to drive the shaft 28 at a constant speed bearing a definite relation to the motor speed, according to the gear ratios employed. Through the cam 27 the shaft 28 will operate to oscillate the rocker arm 2-1- at the predetermined speed rate, and if the slider block 22, to which the link 21 is fastened, be moved to any position not coincident with the pivot 25 of the rocker arm, the link 21 will be reciprocated to oscillate the arm 18 and intermittently drive the roll 15 to lower the curtain 16 downward over the graduated face of the indicator board 12. In the drawing I have shown a small idle roller 15, which guides the curtain onto the front face of the board. In connection with this description it will be noted that the amplitude of oscillation of the arm 18, and in conse iuence, the angular movement of the roll 15, at each oscillation will be dependent upon the position of the slider block 22 within the slot 23, that is, if the slider block be near the pivoted end of the arm 24. the link 21 will have only an exceedingly small lift at each oscillation of the arm, while as the slider block is moved outwardly toward the free end of the arm, the

movement of the link will proportionately increase. There are then two factors which govern the speed at which the curtain 16 moves downwardly across the face of the in- 3.0 dicator board, these factors being: 1, the speed of the shaft 28 which drives the cam, and, 2, the position. of the slider block 22 with respect to the pivot 25.

order to enable my machine as above a lassiest ate. b us d for ealai a i s r costsl prefer to, make use 1 on. number of p ugs wh I ca .av rlmie a Plug and hi h m y rm a mi iiwe thete s' lar show igz fl lflaoh plug will 19:: pr abl qcl h o shady ln rt o t ai di atami r. a feceett r a,

meta t tic handl p et r t). c avi the plug with type members, designated -12. 'llhese. type ,melnbe 's are immaterial to the ,57 operation of the plugsiin. connection with e mach ne whi erms th u 'e 't m tei',o'f. resent my ntion..,; Theygare provid egdahowever, as preferredconstruction,

made- ?9 Perm t tthe.gr rat eille this ma a a .s inbiae i e11 rah. -.t e-..

clock .me l sma Which-1 9 :1115" the Subject ma tct c -newline applic tio Serial umbe tlcl e i a Ma 1. and for s in the sy beineiz ne l btletk r g p was in he u e n the t ne-mach Bel-ruini g. ta h -n sidemtio ef the r sifi amaehiu .9 tones t Subject matter of my present invention each of the worlnnen., ivho,, are. employed on the particu- 89a a}?viiq vii: tartr eetd tit-whi h i to be p were:medun mr lt.banwid with one rahams a@. .;.1" aep.1re w be ideni cal in euery clipi ension, except as to their w dth,-that i%tlre distance between the faces 4.3" and HI iisdistzince or width of the plug will be a function of the hourly wage or salary of the particular employee to whom the plug is assigned, as, for example, if a certain class of workmen are compensated at the rate of fifty cents per hour, each of these workmen might be provided with a plug having a thickness of one inch. A. certain other class of workmen, whose hourly wage would be cents, would then be provided with a plug having a width of one-half inch, and according to this scheme the wages or hourly labor cost for each workman would be proportionate to or a function of the width of the plug which is assigned to him.

For the purpose of rendering clear a preferred manner of making use of my machine I will set forth. briefly a common system of factory accounting.

When plans are made for the production of any particular product or class of manufactured products it is common to estimate as nearly as possible the cost of such product or class of products, dividing such cost into its proper proportions as to labor, material and other factors. Since it is with labor costs only that I am concerned at the present time, We will assume that the estimated labor cost of a certain manufactured product is to be twenty dollars. Returning to the prior illustration with relation to the workmans plug 40, it will be assumed that the standard wage scale is fifty cents per hour. The total labor cost of twenty dollars would, therefore, be equivalent to forty hours labor of one man at the standard wage scale. Referring now to the graduations 13 upon the indicator board 12, it will be seen that these graduations run from a zero mark intermediate the length of the board in both directions, upward and downward. F or preparing my machine for integrating and indicating costs of the production of this article chosen as an illustration, the roll 15 will be manually ope 'ated to bring the curtain 16 to the fortieth upper graduation on the scale 13 and at the same time the adjustable indicator 50, which may be clamped to the side of the board in any desired position, is set opposite the fortieth graduation. At this time the motor 30 may or not be operated, it being immaterial so long as the slider 32 is swung near the pivot as to fail to rock the arm 18 the distance of one ratchet tooth of the roll 15. As the workmen report for duty and are assigned to the particular job which is being considered by way of example, each workman will deliver his plug to the superintendent or despatcher who has charge of the machine. As each plug is received it will be inserted in the slot 23 of the arm 24; and between the slider block 22 and the pivot end of the arm. The parts are so designed and proportioned that when a single standard width plug is inserted behind the workman were called away from this job to attend to other duties, or if the job extended over a period ofscveral days, the plug would be removed and reinstated accordingly, and at any time up to the completion of the job'the total number of hours which the workman had spent upon the job would be indicated visibly upon the face of the indicator board by the distance between the bottom of the curtain and the manually set indicator 50. At the same time the distance of the curtain above the zero mark would be indicative of the time left to complete the job within the original estimate, and if the time required to com-' plete the job exceeded the original estimate the curtain would travel beyond the;

zero mark and cover the graduations of the lower or negative scale, :so that this overtime, or time in excess of the estimate, would also be indicated. If the completion of the job required labor out of the usual hours and for which a wage higher or lower than the standard wage is paid-if, for instance, it was necessary to work on a holiday to complete the job? and holiday pay rates were double those of ordinary pay rates,

then the gear train connecting the motor 30 and the shaft 28 mi htbe changed to drive the lattershaft at double speed during the period of this holiday employement, and the machine would act continuously to integrate the labor cost on the job according to this advanced wage scale.

ln the above illustration of the method of using my machine I have assumed that a. single workman was employed on the job under consideration. In fact, however, my machine finds its greatest usefulness where the job is one requiring the services of a comparatively large number of employees belonging to different wage classes. The operation of the machine is exactly the same as outlined above in this instance. As each new workman is assigned to the job his plug is placed with the other plugs back of the slider block 22, and the stroke of the link 21 becomes proportionately increased for each oscillation of the rocker arm. In such large jobs as were last mentioned and in which my. machine finds its greatest usefulness, it is frequently necessary that some or all of the workmen be temporarily shifted or assigned to emergency work. To keep a complete record of labor costs under such conditions according to the methods hitherto; in use involves a considerable amount of clerical labor, while by the use of my machine such shifting of the work men-requires only the removal and reinstatement of the plugs within the machine, which operation may be performed by the superintendent or despatcher who assigns the workmen to their tasks.

One of the primary advantages of my machine lies in the fact that by the instantaneous reading of the indicator board the following facts may be ascertained with respect to any particular job 1, the estimated labor cost of the job 2, the labor cost incurred up to that minute on the particular job; 8, the number of workmen and the wages of each now employed on the particular job; l, the approximate'time which will be required according to the original estimate to complete the job.

In mounting my machine in a factory or workshop it may be conveniently arranged with the indicator board within the shop itself-so that it be viewed by the workmen and may serve as a continuous reminder .to them of the estimated cost of the T job on which they are employed, and will alsoenable them to judge of whether they are making as rapid progress as will be required to come within the estimate The gearbox and rocker arm in which the plugs are mounted may be iocated inside the despatchers or superintendents office, so that there will be no unauthorized interference with the operation of the machine.

In the foregoing illustration of a preferred method of making use of the machine I have taken for example that system of factory accounting in which the unit of labor cost is a standard hour. It will readily be understood that any other unit of labor cost might be used, that is, the cost might beexpressed directly in dollars and cents.and the board so graduated, the parts then being so proportioned as to function properly, when employing this system of units. It will be understood, also, that vari ous methods of graduating the indicator board and various forms of movable indi- -ators operable from the machine to travel upon the board might be used without departing from the spirit of my invention. I wish it to be understood, therefore, that the foregoing description is illustrative only and for the purpose of making my invention more clear, and that I do not regard my invention as limited to the particular conlVhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a calculating machine of the type described, a timecontrolled driving-motor, an integrating indicator driven from the said motor, and a step-b *-step speed adjusting means for the said indicator, each step of adjustment representing a time cost unit, whereby the total time cost is integrated.

In a machine for the purpose described a movable indicator, a continuously operated time controlled motor and driving connections between said motor and said indicator, the said connections including a plurality of removable elements arranged to govern the speed of movement of the said indicator, whereby movement of the indicater may be a function ot' the time and of the presence or absence of the said removable elements.

In a machine for the purpose described a movable indicator, a continuously operating time controlled motor, intermittently acting driving connections between said motor and said indicator, and a plurality of remo 'able elements for varying the amplitude of motion of said intermittently acting means.

l. In a machine for the purpose described an indicator, a rocker arm, connections for continuously moving said indicator from the oscillatory movement of said rocker arm, time controlled means for oscillating said rocker arm, and a plurality of removable elements arranged to vary proportionately to their number the movement of said indicator at each oscillation of the rocker arm.

5. In a machine for the purpose described, an indicator, an oscillatory arm for moving the said indicator, time controlled means for oscillating the said arm, and a plurality of removable elements adapted to vary the amplitude of oscillation otthe said arm.

(5. In a machine for the purpose described an indicator board having graduations thereon, a movable indicator element adapted to travel over the graduated surface of the board, intermittently acting time controlled. means for moving the said indicator, and a plurality of removable elements arranged to vary the movement of the said indicator at each operation of the said driving means.

7. In a machine for the purpose described a time controlled driving motor, an oscillatory arm operable from the said motor, a plurality of removable elements for varying in a step-by-step relation the amplitude of oscillation of the said arm, a movable indicating element, and driving connections letween said oscillating arm and said indicating element.

8. In a machine for the purpose described a time controlled driving motor, an oscillatory arm operable from the said motor, a slide block mounted to travel lengthwise of the said arm, a plurality of removable elements for fixing the position of the said slide block, a movable indicating element, and connections between said element and said slide block for driving the former from the latter.

9. In a machine for the purpose described a time controlled driving motor, an oscil latory arm operable from the said motor, a slide block adjustable lengthwise oi the said arm, a plurality of removable plugs for fixing the position of the said slide block, an indicator board having graduations thereon, a movable indicating element adapted to travel across the graduated face of the board, and connections for driving the said indicating element from the said slide block.

10.111 a machine for the purpose de scribed, a time controlled driving motor, an oscillatory arm operable from the said motor, a slide block adjustable lengthwise oi the said arm, a plurality of movable plugs mounted in said arm for fixing the position of the slide block therein, an indicating board having graduations on its face, an indicator element movable across the face of the said board, a ratchet and pawl mechanism for moving the said indicator element, and driving connections between said slide block and said ratchet and pawl mechanism.

CASS L. KENNICOTT.

In presence of- L. HmsLan, K. ONEILL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents;v Washington, D. C. 

